Line holder and guide



(No Model.)

J. H. GRISWOJLD.

7 LINE HOLDER AND GUIDE. No. 500,491. Patented June 27, 1893 NORRJS Perms cov. PNOTO-LIYHO wnsmuamn o c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. GRISWOLD, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

LINE HOLDER AND GUIDE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 500,491, dated June 27, 1893.

Application filed February 28, 1893. Serial No. 464,030. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN HUDSON GRIs- WOLD, a citizen of the United States, residing in Oakland, Alameda county, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Line Holders and Guides; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same;

My invention relates to the class of devices for guiding cords, ropes, cables, and lines of every description, and holding them at any point desired.

A familiar example of these devices is the stop-pulley of the cord of those curtains which are secured below, said cord passing upwardly through the stop-pulley secured above, and having its fall or extremity within reach of the operator. By pulling down upon this fall, the cord will slip through the pulley, and will raise the curtain; and in order to hold the cord at any point, it is deflected momentarily sidewise, to bind in suitable manner. To release it, it is brought back to a central position and allowed to run through the pulley to lower the curtain.

My invention, for the purpose of illustrating one form of its application, will be described in connection with the cord of the curtain, though I do not wish to be understood as confining myself to this application, for it may be used for guiding and holding ropes, cables, cords, and other descriptions of lines which, from the character of their employment, have to be guided and held in desired positions.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and perfectly operating, effective device of this class, which will allow the cord to be instantly released to move it, and perfectly held when necessary.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a more complete explanation of my invention,Figure '1 is a perspective View of my holder and guide, a portion of the side wall being broken away. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same showing its application to a curtain.

A is a bracket or stock having in its upper front portion a seat a in which is loosely fitted a freely operating roller B which is not secured to the seat nor to the bracket or stock in any manner, except by being confined therein. This seat a of the bracket or stock is removed from the back wall of the bracket by a space a into which the roller is adapted to move from its seat, said space being only wide enough to partially receive the roller, and to bind it temporarily therein. In practice, the bracket or stock will be preferably made from metal in one or more parts, having a general U-shape, the extremity of one of the arms being carried forwardly to form the seat a for the roller, andthe extremity of the other arm having the holes a made in it, to adapt it to be secured fixedly to some bearing or support. The outer arm of the bracket or stock. at its top, is provided with a front opening or slot a and the bottom or base of the bracket or stock has a hole a through it.

C is a cord or line. It passes up through the hole a over the roller B, through the front opening a and hangs down within reach, as shown. In order to show its application, one end of the cord or line is attached to a curtain or shade D, and the other end hangs down within reach of the operator. Now, when it is desired to pull upon the line or cord to raise the curtain, or for any other purpose, the fall or free end of the cord is pulled upon, which, under the resisting weight of the curtain'or other load, causes the freely moving roller B to be pulled forwardly into its seat a, and to turn therein axially, thus preventing any friction on the cord or line. When the cord or line is released, the weight of the curtain or other load, pulling upon the other end of the cord or line, will move the roller bodily out of its seat, causing it to roll backwardly into the space a behind the seat, and said cord or line will thereby be bound between said roller and the back wall of the bracket or stock, and the greater the strain, the greater the binding eifect of the roller, thereby sustaining the curtain or other load. In this operation of allowing the roller to be moved bodily backwardly to its binding effect, it is well to throw the free end of the cord as near to the perpendicular line of the roller as possible, both to avoid impeding the backward movement of the roller, and to assist it in this movement by pressing against it through the opening a in the front of the bracket or stock. Now, to relieve the cord or line, the free end is grasped, and is pulled outwardly and downwardly which has the effect of moving the roller bodily forwardly again to its seat, thereby releasing the cord or line.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A line holder and guide consisting of a casing having a narrow descending portion the base of which is provided with a line opening and having an enlarged forwardly projecting portion the base of which is provided with a seat in the form of a depression and the front wall being provided with a slot, and the freely bodily movable roller normally located in the aforesaid seat and over which the line passes, said line extending through the aperture over the roller and through the.

slot and adapted when the-strain of the load is upon one end to move the roller bodily. backward against the rear wall of the casing whereby the line is confined and bound, and by the pull upon its other end, to move the roller bodily forward into the seat to free the line, substantially as herein described.

2. A line holder and guide consisting of a' substantially U-shaped bracket or stock having in its forward upper portion a seat a which opens at the back into the space between the arms of the bracket or stock, and. the roller freely confined within thebracket and over which the line passes, said roller being adapted by the strain of the load on one end of the line, to move bodily backwardly into the space in the bracket or stock and to bind the line therein and under the pull on the other end, to move bodily forwardly into the seat of the bracket to free the line, substantially as herein described.

3. A lineholder and guide consisting of the substantially U -shaped bracket or stock having the seat in the upper portion of its front arm, said arm being slotted at its top and a hole through the bottom of the bracket or stock, and the freely bodily movable roller confined within the upper portion of the bracket orstock and over which the line passes, said line extending through the bottom hole, over the roller and through the slot in the top of the front arm of the bracket or stock, and adapted when the strain of theload is upon one end, to move the roller bodily backwardly against the rear wall of the bracket or stock whereby the line is confined and bound, and by the pull upon its other end, to move the roller'bodily forwardly into the seat to free the line, substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN H. GRISWOLD.

Witnesses:

S. H. NOURSE, Gno. l-I. STRONG. 

